President-elect’s team is vetting a number of MAGA supporters for top cabinet positions



Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jnr are set to be handed key administration roles, amid expectations that Donald Trump will pack his new cabinet with loyalists.

Mr Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, was singled out for special praise by Trump during his victory speech on Wednesday morning.

“We have a new star – a star is born,” he said. “Elon, he is an amazing guy.”

Trump previously pledged to install Mr Musk, who has called for the federal budget to be slashed by $2 trillion, as the head of a new government efficiency commission.

Robert F Kennedy Jnr (RFK) initially stood as a third-party presidential candidate but dropped out in August and endorsed Trump.

There were rumours at the time of a deal with the Trump campaign over a job in any future administration in return for RFK’s support. Now, the Covid vaccine sceptic has been promised a “big role” in healthcare.



In his victory speech, Trump said, “RFK Jnr came in and he’s going to help make America healthy again. He’s a great guy and he really wants to do some things and we’re gonna let him go do it.”

In October, Trump said he would let the environmental lawyer “go wild” on health, food and drug regulation.

Mr Kennedy believes drug companies, government regulators and health agencies are making Americans less healthy and has suggested that some vaccines should be taken off the market.

Medical professionals say his views are “not grounded in scientific truth” and that his policies could result in the “chaos” of lower vaccination rates and rises in preventable disease.

Mr Musk and Mr Kennedy are among a slew of close Trump allies in line for major jobs in the new government. But it is Mr Musk’s involvement that has given rise to the most intrigue.





The billionaire, who also owns social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, campaigned vociferously for Trump in recent weeks and reportedly spent more than $130 million on helping him and fellow Republicans win their elections.

Federal employees will now be anxiously awaiting his next move after Trump publicly touted Mr Musk for a government waste-slashing role in his administration.

Mr Musk wrote on X in September: “I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises.” He added that he had spoken to Trump about the role. “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”

More recently, he called on the president to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, part of a repeated theme on the size of the state.


The proposal was met with alarm from trade unions, who said that it amounts to nothing more than a plan to oust non-partisan civil servants and replace them with Trump cronies.

Mr Musk could also be open to accusations of a conflict of interest given that SpaceX benefits from government contracts.

He has long accused US government agencies of holding back his SpaceX and Tesla ventures, delaying his ambition of reaching Mars.

Despite speculation, Trump is notoriously superstitious and declined to discuss preparations for a transition in depth ahead of the election.

But his team has vetted a huge number of potential candidates – largely MAGA supporters – for top administration roles.

Here are all the other names which have repeatedly cropped up.